Keisha Lance Bottoms is racing ahead as rivals battle each other

In the Democratic primary for Georgia governor, front-runner Keisha Lance Bottoms seems to be running in one race while the three main candidates chasing her, former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former state Sen. Jason Esteves and former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, are running in another.

Faced with limited funds and dwindling time, the not-Bottoms candidates’ strategy is simple: Finish in second place in next month’s primary to get into a one-on-one runoff against the former Atlanta mayor in June. Attacking Bottoms’ record before then would only risk damaging their own reputations in the process, the thinking goes. Better to boost their own bios and policy proposals instead.

But the collective hands-off strategy has let Bottoms run essentially unchallenged at the top of the field, holding policy events and listening sessions around the state while the other Democrats duke it out among themselves for a spot in the runoff.

The danger of the race-for-second-place plan emerged this week, however, when Bottoms released her new memoir, “The Rough Side of the Mountain,” days ahead of the start of early voting.

A chapter appeared in Rolling Stone magazine last week, and Bottoms was on “Morning Joe” on Monday promoting the book, too.

“It’s a love letter to not just my family, but to families across America who have dealt with drug addiction,” she said, describing her father, Major Lance, and the effect his jail time and struggle with addiction had on her as a young girl.

Since she’s a candidate for governor, the hosts asked her about her campaign, too. “I’m leading by nearly 30 points in the polls, so I am very encouraged by that,” she said.

The headline that day on MS NOW read, “Former Atlanta mayor tells her story ‘in its fullness.’”

It’s the kind of warm exposure and uncritical coverage that typical candidates don’t usually get, but book authors often do. And it showed what the other Democrats are up against as Bottoms finds new ways to drive her name recognition even higher and rebrand herself from a vulnerable former one-term mayor to a relatable, formidable statewide candidate.

Bottoms can avoid a runoff altogether if she finishes with more than 50% of the primary vote.

Esteves stands by his strategy of staying focused on introducing himself to voters across the state and rolling out policies on affordability, health care and data centers. If he’s attacked anyone, it’s usually been to remind Democrats that Duncan was very recently a Republican leader pushing the same bills Democrats want to reverse.

“What we’ve seen in our internal data is that the support that the former mayor has is just based on the fact that she has the name ID,” he said. “But as soon as folks learn about who I am, I’m taking votes away.”

Esteves predicted that he will not only be in the runoff against Bottoms but that he’ll beat her in the end.

As for Duncan, the former Republican has spent the bulk of his time in front of traditional Democratic audiences to explain his political conversion and make the case that he can lead the party he once opposed.

He has visited Black churches, labor halls and reproductive health rallies. He had also picked up high-profile endorsements, including state Rep. Michelle Au and the electrical workers union, and made the pitch that he’s more electable in November than any other Democrat, especially Bottoms.

“Geoff Duncan is the only Democrat in the race who can build the coalition of Democrats, Independents, and disgusted Republicans that we need to take back the Governor’s office for the first time in nearly 30 years,” spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said.

Thurmond has touted endorsements from former Gov. Roy Barnes and Ambassador Andrew Young, along with an editorial from Flagpole Magazine that called Thurmond “maybe Georgia’s best qualified governor, ever.” But like the other Democrats, he has also avoided attacks on Bottoms, choosing instead to crisscross the state to rally friends and supporters he’s won over decades in public service.

Although Democrats have avoided going after her so far, GOP strategist Stephen Lawson said Bottoms would “no question” be the Democrat that Republicans most want to face in the general election.

“I think her record as the mayor of Atlanta was a complete disaster,” he said.

That may also explain why the only candidate to run an ad against Bottoms this cycle has been a Republican, Rick Jackson. In the ad, Jackson says the former mayor “let Atlanta burn.” He has since said he’ll spend whatever it takes to defeat her in November.

A new attack website also surfaced this week — Keisha4governor.com. This one is most likely from Democrats but gives you an idea of what Republicans will be working with if she is the nominee against them.

The website leads with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ own reelection campaign ad from 2025, saying, “Four years ago, Atlanta was going through a dark hour.” That’s when Dickens succeeded Bottoms at City Hall. It’s followed by dozens of headlines from Bottoms’ tumultuous term, when COVID hit and violence spun out of control.

But the limited attacks don’t seem to be bothering Bottoms. When I caught up with her in Southwest Atlanta last week, she was relaxed and confident.

When a reporter asked about Jackson’s pledge to spend unlimited money against her, she said in an instant, “I’ll still win. I’m the best candidate.”

She also predicted that once the Democrats pick their nominee, the donor money will follow. And at the end of the day, she said, a janitor’s vote in Georgia counts the same as a billionaire’s.